Designer vs. Reality » playtest

Episode 35: Shakespeare’s Daughters Playtest 1

Dan — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:53:19 +0000

A playtest of Nolan Callender’s game Shakespeare’s Daughters which was designed for Game Chef 2011. Nolan is the GM and Leo and Dan play the daughters.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:20 Getting started and character creation
0:18:18 Coming home from church
0:35:58 A fateful carriage ride
1:18:49 William Shakespeare arrives
1:39:54 An unwelcome visitor in the young ladies’ bedroom
1:50:10 Discussion
2:03:50 Outro

There’s a discussion forum for Designer vs. Reality on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 34: Boarsdraft Playtest 1E

Dan — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:40:46 +0000

A playtest of JB Mannon’s wizard boarding school RPG Boarsdraft. Dan is the GM, Leo and Nolan are the players, and we’re continuing the story from episodes 30, 31, 32, and 33.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:37 Getting started
0:01:41 Christmas with Bran
0:23:43 Christmas with Gordon
0:35:57 Thrashing a bit about how to frame the next scene
0:45:00 Breakfast assembly
0:58:08 Theory of Magic
1:22:27 Hanging with the bad crowd
1:36:31 Madris’s Lost Laboratory
1:58:11 To the Potions classroom!
2:07:18 To the kitchen!
2:16:47 Showdown with Jacobus Quigg
2:30:19 Discussion
3:01:21 Outro

There’s a Story-Games thread discussing our playtesting.

There’s a discussion forum for Designer vs. Reality on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 33: Boarsdraft Playtest 1D

Dan — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:30:21 +0000

A playtest of JB Mannon’s wizard boarding school RPG Boarsdraft. Dan is the GM, Leo and Nolan are the players, and we’re continuing the story from episodes 30, 31, and 32.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:39 Getting started
0:01:49 Exploring caves
0:23:43 Detention
0:29:03 Discussing discoveries
0:44:07 Rugby tryouts
0:56:26 Studying with Elsinora
1:02:31 Return to the caves
1:13:41 Studying a map
1:19:41 Duelling club
1:37:57 Discussion
1:54:21 Outro

There’s a Story-Games thread discussing our playtesting.

There’s a discussion forum for Designer vs. Reality on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 32: Boarsdraft Playtest 1C

Dan — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:03:36 +0000

A playtest of JB Mannon’s wizard boarding school RPG Boarsdraft. Dan is the GM, Leo and Nolan are the players, and we’re continuing the story from episodes 30 and 31.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:42 Abjuration class
0:24:41 Library
0:53:56 Lunch
1:09:05 Discussing some issues
1:31:07 Magical History class
1:45:20 Talking in the hallway
1:52:06 Evocation class
2:00:59 Flying class
2:16:45 Halloween bonfire
2:28:07 Fleeing Ermo
2:39:17 Discussion
3:00:15 Outro

There’s a Story-Games thread discussing our playtesting.

There’s a discussion forum for Designer vs. Reality on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 31: Boarsdraft Playtest 1B

Dan — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:12:11 +0000

A playtest of JB Mannon’s wizard boarding school RPG Boarsdraft. Dan is the GM, Leo and Nolan are the players, and we’re continuing the story we started in episode 30. Unfortunately it’s a session that had a clunky, low-energy beginning and had to be cut short before we really got any momentum, but there’s some interesting discussion about things that are giving us trouble with the game.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:56 Getting started
0:06:41 Actual play resumes
0:23:29 Play sort of grinds to a halt
0:35:42 Discussion
0:54:41 Outro

There’s a Story-Games thread discussing our first session which will probably continue with discussion about this one.

There’s a discussion forum for Designer vs. Reality on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 30: Boarsdraft Playtest 1A

Dan — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:17:40 +0000

A playtest of JB Mannon’s wizard boarding school RPG Boarsdraft. Dan is the GM and Leo, Nolan, and Scott are the players.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:56 Getting Started
0:02:56 Character Generation
0:23:04 Gordon’s Acceptance Letter
0:43:30 Bran’s Acceptance Letter
058:13 Rod’s Acceptance Letter
1:13:32 Boarsdraft Express
1:38:14 Sorting into Houses
1:52:16 Welcome Feast
2:08:40 Seeking Fortune
2:31:48 Discussion
2:51:40 Outro

Scott Dunphy is the host of the New Style podcast.

There’s a discussion forum for Designer vs. Reality on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 29: Keystone Crimewave Playtest 1

Dan — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:42:44 +0000

A playtest of the comedic crime game Keystone Crimewave by Leo Lalande. Leo, Nolan, and Dan are the players.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:27 Getting Started
0:07:05 Character Creation
0:16:36 Character Review
0:17:33 Master Plan
0:26:53 Scene 1
0:35:20 Scene 2
0:41:45 Scene 3
0:48:37 Scene 4
0:52:59 Scene 5
0:58:15 Scene 6
1:04:07 Scene 7
1:08:40 Scene 8
1:12:11 Scene 9
1:16:42 Discussion
1:35:00 Outro

There’s a discussion forum for the show on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 28: Skin Men Playtest 1

Dan — Sun, 22 May 2011 06:44:42 +0000

A playtest session of Skin Men by Marc Majcher. Jamie and Bert are the players and Dan is the GM.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:38 Getting Started
0:05:10 Character Generation
0:11:29 The Pinch
0:15:24 Client Introduction
0:37:16 Lily District
0:56:24 Marsh District
1:22:09 Garden District
1:47:48 Discussion
2:07:11 Outro

There’s a discussion forum for the show on RPGCrosstalk.

Episode 27: Brick and Mortar Playtest 1

Dan — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:15:55 +0000

A playtest session with two playthroughs of Brick & Mortar: Last of the Independents designed by Dan Maruschak for the April 2011 round of The Ronnies. Leo, Nolan, and Dan are the players.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:20 Getting Started
0:02:52 First Session Pre-Play
0:06:33 First Session Actual Play
0:27:55 First Session Discussion
0:38:09 Second Session Pre-Play
0:39:48 Second Session Actual Play
0:54:20 Second Session Discussion
1:09:28 Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

(here’s the discussion thread on The Forge)

Episode 26: Starshine Playtest 1D

Dan — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:58:44 +0000

The steampunk adventure continues in this playtest session of Nolan Callender’s Starshine, continuing the story from the past few episodes. Nolan is the GM and Leo Lalande and Dan Maruschak are the players. We had these rules.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:22 Getting started
0:02:26 Characters
0:04:21 Play Resumes
0:37:48 Contracts challenge
1:01:42 Door challenge
1:44:20 Chase challenge
1:53:10 Discussion
2:21:21 Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 25: Starshine Playtest 1C

Dan — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:53:37 +0000

The steampunk adventure continues in this playtest session of Nolan Callender’s Starshine, continuing the story from episode 24 with the characters created in episode 23. Nolan is the GM and Leo Lalande and Dan Maruschak are the players. We had these updated rules.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:36 Getting started
0:04:01 Characters
0:07:35 Resume challenge from previous session
0:49:40 Follow up on clues from interrogation
1:00:21 Parallel chemical analysis / horseman attack challenge
1:39:55 Discussion
2:16:18 Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 24: Starshine Playtest 1B

Dan — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 01:20:14 +0000

A steampunk adventure begins in this playtest session of Nolan Callender’s Starshine, using the world and characters we created in episode 23. Nolan is the GM and Leo Lalande and Dan Maruschak are the players. We had these rules.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:33 Getting Started
0:10:46 Reconnected after technical issues
0:16:24 Reviewing the character sheets
0:18:24 Opening Scene
0:34:05 Investigation Begins
1:01:46 Dan has a hard time “walking on”
1:41:55 A gathering of experts
1:55:26 Interrogation challenge
2:40:09 Discussion
3:01:03 Expressions
3:07:32 Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 23: Starshine Playtest 1A

Dan — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:03:13 +0000

World and character creation for Nolan Callender’s game Starshine. Nolan is the GM and Leo Lalande and Dan Maruschak are the players. We used these rules to create a Victorian Steampunk setting and characters.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:25 Get Oriented
0:04:19 General Setting
0:06:21 Fantastic Elements
0:11:41 Crisis
0:20:22 Episodes
0:22:27 Boundaries
0:28:43 Pre-chargen Questions
0:30:46 Factions
0:38:02 Characteristics
0:50:50 Knacks
0:56:34 Signature Items
1:05:32 Finalizing
1:16:04 Outro

The system in Starshine is an evolution of the one used in the Shadows playtests in episodes 18, 19, and 20.

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 22: Pilgrim Playtest 1B

Dan — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:11:45 +0000

Leo Lalande, Nolan Callender, and Dan Maruschak play Leo’s Game Pilgrim, concluding the story started in the previous session. Leo provided some notes summarizing the previous session.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:35 Recap
0:04:02 Scene 13
0:10:33 Scene 14
0:13:32 Scene 15
0:17:34 Scene 16
0:22:18 Scene 17
0:23:34 Scene 18
0:24:51 Scene 19
0:26:41 Scene 20
0:28:26 Scene 21
0:30:30 Endgame
0:35:56 Discussion
1:11:54 Outro

During the discussion we mention that there are similarities between Pilgrim and A Penny for My Thoughts which has been featured in AP podcast form on The Walking Eye (and on Story Shtick when the game was still in playtesting).

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 21: Pilgrim Playtest 1A

Dan — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:14:51 +0000

Leo Lalande, Nolan Callender, and Dan Maruschak play Leo’s Game Pilgrim.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:28 Character Creation
0:22:36 Explanation
0:36:35 Scene 1
0:45:59 Scene 2
0:50:22 Scene 3
1:00:38 Scene 4
1:02:26 Scene 5
1:05:47 Scene 6
1:07:18 Scene 7
1:08:19 Scene 8
1:13:04 Scene 9
1:14:54 Scene 10
1:17:12 Scene 11
1:19:22 Scene 12
1:21:57 Discussion
1:59:56 Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 20: Shadows Playtest 1C

Dan — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:54:00 +0000

Nolan Callender, Leo Lalande, and Dan Maruschak play Nolan’s game Shadows (working title), starting a new quest that continues the story from episodes 18 and 19. We had updated rules for the new session.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:45 New Rules
0:21:10 Character Summary
0:23:43 Play Begins
0:42:58 Guard Challenge
0:55:23 Entering Camp
1:14:35 Inside Camp
1:24:15 To Lazare’s Lab
1:59:11 Philippe and Lazare Talk
2:02:52 Wrapup
2:19:21 Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 19: Shadows Playtest 1B

Dan — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:54:35 +0000

Nolan Callender, Leo Lalande, and Dan Maruschak play Nolan’s game Shadows (working title), continuing the quest started in episode 18. We had updated rules for the new session.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:27 Recap
0:02:39 Play Resumes
0:20:22 Alehouse Conflict
1:51:10 After the Conflict
2:01:57 Discussion
2:20:50 Final Thoughts and Outro

Discuss the show in the discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 18: Shadows Playtest 1A

Dan — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:21:11 +0000

Nolan Callender, Leo Lalande, and Dan Maruschak play Nolan’s game Shadows (working title). We had these rules for character generation, but the rest was explained in-game.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:05 Setting Overview
0:08:00 Character Concepts
0:12:23 Mechanical Chargen
0:42:21 Choosing a Quest
0:51:08 Character Review
0:53:16 Normal Play Begins
1:17:13 Leo’s Character Enters
1:25:27 First Conflict
2:15:32 Post-conflict Mechanics
2:18:54 Wrapup
2:27:30 Closing Thoughts and Outro

In my closing thoughts, I refer to this blog post by Vincent Baker.

Discuss the show in the new discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Episode 17: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 8D

Dan — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:39:51 +0000

Dan Maruschak, Leo Lalande, and Nolan Callender play Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.67, concluding the story from the previous three episodes.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:05 Recap
0:05:45 Chapter 27
0:18:14 Chapter 28
0:34:14 Chapter 29
0:45:34 Chapter 30
0:54:34 Chapter 31
1:10:54 Chapter 32
1:17:16 Chapter 33
1:27:38 Chapter 34
1:34:12 Epilogue
1:39:14 Wrapup
1:43:58 Nolan gives his assessment of the game
1:47:24 Outro

Discuss the show in the new discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Final Hour of a Storied Age is in beta. Can you help playtest it?

We’ll have a new game next episode!

Episode 16: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 8C

Dan — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:01:08 +0000

Dan Maruschak, Leo Lalande, and Nolan Callender play Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.67, continuing the story from the previous two episodes.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:04 Recap
0:05:28 Chapter 17
0:20:23 Chapter 18
0:35:34 Chapter 19
0:55:04 Chapter 20
1:23:38 Chapter 21
1:38:02 Chapter 22
1:48:22 Chapter 23
1:58:05 Chapter 24
2:09:25 Chapter 25
2:16:53 Chapter 26
2:23:50 Wrapup

Discuss the show in the new discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Final Hour of a Storied Age is in beta. Can you help playtest it?

Episode 15: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 8B

Dan — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:56:06 +0000

Dan Maruschak, Leo Lalande, and Nolan Callender play Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.67, continuing the story from the previous episode.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:26 Recap
0:03:16 Chapter 5
0:15:04 Chapter 6
0:29:11 Chapter 7
0:35:27 Chapter 8
0:54:39 Chapter 9
1:08:09 Chapter 10
1:14:56 Chapter 11
1:30:11 Chapter 12
1:38:29 Chapter 13
1:47:56 Chapter 14
2:03:12 Chapter 15
2:09:14 Chapter 16
2:22:01 Wrapup

Discuss the show in the new discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Final Hour of a Storied Age is in beta. Can you help playtest it?

Episode 14: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 8A

Dan — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:13:17 +0000

Dan Maruschak, Leo Lalande, and Nolan Callender start a new story arc of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.67.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:27 Roll for words
0:05:08 Outline the plot
0:32:30 Finalize characters
0:37:27 Chapter 1
0:52:49 Chapter 2
1:04:42 Chapter 3
1:08:57 Chapter 4
1:15:02 Wrapup

Discuss the show in the new discussion forum on RPGCrosstalk!

Final Hour of a Storied Age is in beta. Can you help playtest it?

Episode 13: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 7D

Dan — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 22:34:26 +0000

Concluding the story from episodes 10, 11, and 12, this is a playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.66 with Leo Lalande, Nolan Callender, and Dan Maruschak.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:30 Recap of previous session
0:02:33 Chapter 24
0:19:44 Chapter 25
0:31:29 Chapter 26
0:46:22 Chapter 27
0:56:44 Chapter 28
1:09:26 Chapter 29
1:15:44 Chapter 30
1:26:38 Epilogue
1:32:34 Discussion
1:53:26 Outro

Episode 12: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 7C

Dan — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:00:41 +0000

Continuing the story from episodes 10 and 11, this is a playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.66 with Leo Lalande, Nolan Callender, and Dan Maruschak.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:03 Chapter 13
0:14:18 Chapter 14
0:28:21 Chapter 15
0:39:19 Chapter 16
1:04:03 Chapter 17
1:17:29 Chapter 18
1:25:33 Chapter 19
1:34:33 Chapter 20
1:45:16 Chapter 21
1:53:10 Chapter 22
2:02:08 Chapter 23
2:13:44 Discussion and Feedback
2:25:05 Outro

Episode 11: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 7B

Dan — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:00:10 +0000

Continuing the story from episode 10, this is a playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.66 with Leo Lalande, Nolan Callender, and Dan Maruschak.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:13 Chapter 4
0:26:28 Chapter 5
0:39:58 Chapter 6
0:55:44 Chapter 7
1:11:26 Chapter 8
1:24:02 Chapter 9
1:32:24 Chapter 10
1:41:16 Chapter 11
1:49:34 Chapter 12
1:59:59 Discussion and Feedback

Episode 10: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 7A Recap

Dan — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:13:14 +0000

I started a new round of playtests for rev 0.66 of Final Hour of a Storied Age but lost the audio for the first session. To give listeners context for the next few episodes where that game continues, this is a summary of the session in the style of the Actual People, Actual Play podcast. Some real AP episodes are coming soon!

Episode 9: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 6C

Dan — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:42:08 +0000

Continuing the story from episodes 7 and 8, this is another playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.62 with Lance Allen, Lenny Balsera, and Dan Maruschak.

0:00:00 Intro
0:12:25 Chapter 13
0:27:45 Chapter 14
0:57:03 Chapter 15
1:25:33 Chapter 16
1:40:21 Chapter 17
1:59:56 Chapter 18
2:19:26 Wrapup

Episode 8: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 6B

Dan — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:54:46 +0000

Continuing the story from episode 7, this is another playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.61 with Lance Allen of Wolves Den Publishing, Lenny Balsera the Lead System Designer for the Dresden Files RPG, and Dan Maruschak the game’s designer and host of the podcast.

0:00:00 Intro and banter
0:02:58 Chapter 5
0:19:12 Chapter 6
0:43:07 Chapter 7, first attempt
1:05:12 Chapter 7, after discussing some issues
1:23:55 Chapter 8
1:37:06 Chapter 9
1:50:26 Chapter 10
2:05:31 Chapter 11
2:25:25 Chapter 12
2:48:33 Discussing some ambiguous rules
2:56:43 Outro

Episode 7: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 6A

Dan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:41:03 +0000

A playtest session of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.61. The players are Lance Allen of Wolves Den Publishing, Lenny Balsera the Lead System Developer for the Dresden Files RPG, and Dan Maruschak the designer of the game.

0:00:00 Intro and banter
0:10:45 Start playing the game
1:28:37 Chapter 1
1:51:49 Chapter 2
2:13:35 Chapter 3
2:29:59 Chapter 4
2:45:37 Wrap-up

Episode 6: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 5

Dan — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:24:16 +0000

A playtest session of Final Hour of a Storied Age rev 0.6. For some commentary on rule mistakes we made during the session, check out the companion blog post which summarizes this session in text form.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:31 Start Seed Creation
0:48:58 Character Creation
1:01:35 Chapter 1
1:32:11 Chapter 2
1:43:43 Chapter 3
2:00:32 Chapter 4
2:06:59 Chapter 5
2:22:58 Post-game feedback

Episode 5: ReCoil Playtest 1

Dan — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:56:41 +0000

A playtest session of ReCoil by Lance Allen. In ReCoil, you play spirits of the dead who must possess humans still living in the mortal coil in order to fight off the minions of Oblivion who are trying to unmake reality.

0:00:00 Intro
0:03:05 Character Creation Begins
0:09:07 Conviction
0:14:33 Breakpoints
0:22:00 Sync Trait
0:23:58 Talents
0:30:07 Skills
0:35:39 Finishing Touches
0:40:39 Gameplay Begins
0:50:32 Mission Briefing
0:55:43 Choose a Host
1:02:12 On a Paris Street
1:22:22 Begin Investigation
1:35:53 Confronting a Naughtwraith
1:55:30 The Police!
2:08:24 Host’s Office
2:14:54 Back to the Festival
2:28:12 Tracking a Second Naughtwraith
2:40:08 Deciding Whether To End the Session or Finish Story
2:46:23 Picking Up the Naughtwraith’s Trail
3:00:25 Pick Up the Trail Again
3:11:17 Aftermath
3:13:24 Post-game Feedback

Episode 4: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 4

Dan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:27:53 +0000

A playtest session of Final Hour of a Storied Age.

0:00:00 Show intro and player introductions
0:03:44 Game setup begins
0:10:33 Create star charts
0:12:04 Read completed seeds aloud
0:13:02 Determine protagonist, antagonist, and main plot
0:26:16 Begin drawing map
0:29:27 Detail plot segments
0:35:47 Identify supporting characters
0:43:55 Finalize map
0:47:58 Stat out characters
0:51:23 Distribute starting tokens
0:53:06 Chapter 1
1:06:15 Chapter 2
1:17:06 Chapter 3
1:29:53 Chapter 4
1:39:47 Chapter 5
1:51:12 Chapter 6
2:08:19 Playtest feedback
2:28:08 Jason relates words of wisdom from Luke Crane

Links: Jason’s podcast: Storyjammers, Ewen’s blog.

Episode 3: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 3

Dan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:47:04 +0000

The third playtest session of Final Hour of a Storied Age.

0:00:00 Intro
0:01:00 Session Begins
0:26:05 Begin Map Creation
0:34:28 Finalize Plot Outline
0:43:13 Chapter 1
0:53:21 Chapter 2
1:02:50 Chapter 3
1:14:28 Chapter 4
1:26:33 Chapter 5
1:37:37 Chapter 6
1:50:56 Chapter 7
1:56:39 Chapter 8
2:12:02 Chapter 9
2:24:03 Chapter 10
2:34:53 Outro

We mention two other AP podcasts: The Walking Eye and The Gutter Skypes.

Episode 2: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 2

Dan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:39:29 +0000

The second playtest session of Final Hour of a Storied Age: A Roleplaying Game of Epic Fantasy.

Episode 1: Final Hour of a Storied Age Playtest 1

Dan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:01:17 +0000

A playtest of Final Hour of a Storied Age: A Roleplaying Game of Epic Fantasy.